(01-21) 23:02 PST — Every day they come to work through the lobby at their team’s Santa Clara headquarters, the 49ers pass by one of the most impressive trophy cases in professional sports. Five gleaming footballs atop silver pedestals and a pyramid … …

(01-21) 23:01 PST — Mike Ditka himself will say defense doesn’t win championships anymore.
“The game has changed,” said the former Bears coach who won a Super Bowl after the 1985 season with one of the top defenses in NFL history.
That being said, d… …

— The Giants’ success starts with their pass rush, and that’s why they ended Aaron Rodgers’ season last week.
New York sacked Rodgers four times in a 37-20 win and has 17 sacks during its four-game win streak. The return to health of defensive ends O… …

— Twenty-one years ago, the 49ers arrived at this moment not as a story of improbable resurrection. They were a full-fledged powerhouse, standing on the brink of NFL history.
Then came an epic tussle, a crushing hit on Joe Montana and a rare, costly … …

— The 49ers’ mystique has grown through the season, fueled primarily by the many faces and phrases of their eccentric head coach, Jim Harbaugh. From the fearsome honey badger to blue-collar work shirts, cultural touchstones have been plentiful. Here … …

(01-21) 22:59 PST — In football, as in travel, it is often possible to take different roads and end up in the same location.
That’s been especially true for the 49ers and Giants, who have followed wildly different paths to reach the NFC Championship … …

— Over the last 20 years in Bay Area sports, who is more shocking and surprising than this season’s 49ers?
No-o-o-o-body!
Right? Wrong!
I hereby induct the 49ers into my imaginary Bay Area Phenom Team Hall of Fame. But they join two other teams: the … …

Those lucky 49er Faithful with tickets to today’s NFC Championship Game had best brace for rain.
After Saturday’s surprising sunshine, rain will return to the Bay Area by kickoff time, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. So will the wind, which can wreak havoc wit… …